This is the first I heard about horses leaving but I have posted on several boards including Australian one.

Running martingales, boots, polo and unbraided manes seem to be the norm for the lower level schooling shows.

There even one post with pictures of the dirtest horse in the ring I have ever seen and when I question it I was told that it was no big deal and that it was only a schooling show.

When I read posts from people from that country that show they care about what they look like and that the level does not make a difference in attitude....then and only then will I change my opinion.

Well I'd say whoever you've been 'talking to' on other forums are most likely pony club riders or similar. I can tell you, even an unofficial, or 'schooling' comp, the majority of riders will be turned out with washed horses, formal attire and plaited. The only time you see unplaited or unwashed (unwashed but well groomed) horses and riders out of formal attire is when the show is simply a club day in the middle of winter which is usually where people tend to take young horses for the first time to get experience.
I posted photo's of me riding in the state champs earlier this year, I can assure you, I scrubbed that horse until every trace of dirt was gone, plaited, rugged her up head to toe and kept all my gear in perfect condition, shining and clean to look the best I possibly could. This also seemed to be the way for every other horse and rider I saw out there.

Don't judge until you have had to experience and seen something first hand, you clearly are very ill-informed.

The club is a 'fun' riding club. It's for kids to learn to ride that can't afford to own their own horse. Most of the horses they have there are 20+ years old, I have ridden Sonnett a few times and I would have to agree that he is cranky.

They are not un-educated, yes they teach the wrong stuff, but ALL of there horses are healthy. I'm sure the owner of the club well decide when he wants to retire Sonnett. When I was there they had a crappy instructor, she wasn't nice..hence the reason I lefted. The dressage comp was between the other kids and their ponies, it wasn't a serious thing. You will probably find that most of the kids riding there have only been riding from the start of the year..

I know the man that runs the place, he knows his horses pretty well. He would retire Sonnett when he feels best. I was never too keen on the instructor though..we butted heads alot.

But..to Tayz...Most of the stuff they will teach you at that riding school isn't correct. Do you mind if I ask you a question? You can answer in the PM if ya want...How have they taught you to ask a horse to move on and halt?

Re: the aussie riding school thing,
I've only ever come across two riding schools I would never use. However after spending the amount of time on the net I do, I've heard alot of stories about dodgy riding centres in the US. Theres good and bad everywhere.

We don't have 'schooling' shows like there is overseas. We do however have 'unofficial' dressage shows that are treated like any other dressage comp. I've only once not washed a horse for a competition and it was a small country pony club gymkhana that I took a young mare to for the experience.

The type of 'competition' the OP is talking about, id say, is nothing formal, just a friendly comp between the members of the school

ThatNinjaHorse, you sound as fussy as me with your choice of instructors. There's only 2 here that I'd use on a regular basis, the one I'm with now I've been with for about 8 years now and she is excellent, very correct and has a very good reputation Australia wide. The other is just the most beautifull, natural rider from Sweden. Other than those two, I'd prefer to not have a lesson than go with someone else, unless we get a coach from overseas that I like the look of.
I don't do the 'riding school' thing, can't stand the clicky 'saddle club' style groups the kiddies form there, so I go and take my horses up on a weekday when I have time off work to avoid them :S

I am from Australia and am learning dressage. I have not competed yet but I will bbe turning my horse out properly when I do, even at the very low levels. My horse is always well groomed even for lessons. I take pride in my horses appearance and recently when I took her to a local show for a led class spent probably 8 hours preparing her in the days before and on the day of the show. The only time you will see horses around here not plaited and perfectly groomed is at a training day, but even then they are presented neatly.

My riding school is small and has good horses. I have my own horse now ut occasionally still ride a school horse (school master) if I need to work on somehting in particular that my horse does not know yet. My instructor is wonderful and very knowledgable.

The club is a 'fun' riding club. It's for kids to learn to ride that can't afford to own their own horse. Most of the horses they have there are 20+ years old, I have ridden Sonnett a few times and I would have to agree that he is cranky.

They are not un-educated, yes they teach the wrong stuff, but ALL of there horses are healthy. I'm sure the owner of the club well decide when he wants to retire Sonnett. When I was there they had a crappy instructor, she wasn't nice..hence the reason I lefted. The dressage comp was between the other kids and their ponies, it wasn't a serious thing. You will probably find that most of the kids riding there have only been riding from the start of the year..

I know the man that runs the place, he knows his horses pretty well. He would retire Sonnett when he feels best. I was never too keen on the instructor though..we butted heads alot.

But..to Tayz...Most of the stuff they will teach you at that riding school isn't correct. Do you mind if I ask you a question? You can answer in the PM if ya want...How have they taught you to ask a horse to move on and halt?

Um, like to move forwards and stop? Yeah, I suppose. Sonnetts owner(G someone, coz I wont say his name out loud) has just recently had to have an operation so he is rarely there anymore.
Was Jenny your instructor. Not many people like her. She yells too much and is always in a rush to finish the lesson.
Have you met Johnny? He is a young horse they got that they've been kinda getting members to teach manners to. He's one who bucks and pigroots.
And Puzzle. He is the newest club horse. Very fat and lazy and no manners. Kicked my friend a few months ago.

Yes, I agree. It's a fun horse club. When I get my horse I will probaly not board it there, I'll probaly leave the club...

I am from Australia and am learning dressage. I have not competed yet but I will bbe turning my horse out properly when I do, even at the very low levels. My horse is always well groomed even for lessons. I take pride in my horses appearance and recently when I took her to a local show for a led class spent probably 8 hours preparing her in the days before and on the day of the show..

That is good. A well turned out horse even at the lowest levels shows respect for the show and show officals.

To me it is a courtesy thing and here, if you were not correctly turned out you would not even get past the steward and allowed to compete. Yes we have horse clubs like pony club and some non affiliated shows ( rare as the governing bodies step in) but the main lower level dressage club is a three tiered group with local, provincial and national held shows, clinic etc.

Um, like to move forwards and stop? Yeah, I suppose. Sonnetts owner(G someone, coz I wont say his name out loud) has just recently had to have an operation so he is rarely there anymore.
Was Jenny your instructor. Not many people like her. She yells too much and is always in a rush to finish the lesson.
Have you met Johnny? He is a young horse they got that they've been kinda getting members to teach manners to. He's one who bucks and pigroots.
And Puzzle. He is the newest club horse. Very fat and lazy and no manners. Kicked my friend a few months ago.

Yes, I agree. It's a fun horse club. When I get my horse I will probaly not board it there, I'll probaly leave the club...

I had Jenny for a year but they had another instructor there, but no I wasn't too keen on her. Is Johnny a big huge chestnut horse? He has a massive head? If that's him, I bought my Appy pony off of the guy that trained him. It doesn't surprise me that he bucks and pigroots. I have never heard of Puzzle.

I think it would be a good idea to leave the club once you get a horse, but still find a experienced instructor to have lessons with, or join a friendly pony club!

Johnny is a pony, chestnut, with a blaze. But he isn't very big. Around the same height as Melody.
Puzzle has only been at the club for a few months.
The other riding instructor left a few weeks ago so only Jenny is doing the lessons now.

We plaited the horses manes and tails and made them all nice and clean for the gymkhana. The only dirty pony that was there was a fluffy white pony that one of the little kids let roll on the ground on accident and they couldn't get all the dirt of. But he still had his mane and tail done nicely and the saddle cloth hid the smudges well. But he didn't come first in the nicest horse in his group lol.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.